H.S. football: DePaul primed for statement showdown

WAYNE — Winning what would be just the third state championship in school history would be extremely meaningful for everyone involved with DePaul’s football program.

Nothing the Spartans could encounter the first weekend in December, however, will be bigger than the opportunity that awaits them Friday night. Their regular-season showdown with unbeaten, nationally-ranked St. Joseph is being billed as the most significant home game in DePaul’s football history.

The Spartans have a chance to knock off the prominent opponent that has become their nemesis in recent years and win the Big North’s United Division title. Upsetting St. Joseph, the top-ranked team in The Record Top 25, would be the crowning achievement in what several Spartans already have called a "surreal" regular season that includes victories over parochial powers Don Bosco and Bergen Catholic.

"It would be huge," said DePaul coach John McKenna, whose team is ranked No. 2. "It would be everything we worked for all season. And it’s for the [division] championship, which in this [division] means just as much as a state championship."

St. Joseph (6-0, 2-0) leads DePaul (6-1, 2-1) by a half-game in the four-team Big North United standings. The Green Knights also have established themselves as the top team in New Jersey and beat Paramus Catholic, 27-14, in their biggest game of the regular season Saturday.

Convincing wins against DeMatha (Md.) Catholic, Bergen Catholic, St. Peter’s Prep and Paramus Catholic have strengthened St. Joseph’s national profile. The Green Knights are ranked No. 12 in USA Today’s Super 25 national poll and No. 7 in the RivalsHigh 100.

USA Today ranked DePaul No. 44 in its most recent poll and RivalsHigh has the Spartans at No. 41. The Spartans are much more focused on other numbers — 0-5 — their record against St. Joseph since the teams began playing regularly in 2009.

"We haven’t beaten Joe’s since I’ve been here and we lost to them the year before I got here, too," DePaul senior wide receiver/cornerback/kicker Riley Clark said. "So it’s a big thing for us as seniors. We want this game real bad. We want to be remembered as that team that went out and won the Big North [United], when it got voted the toughest [division] in the country again. We want to finish No. 1 in the state and get that state championship, too."

DePaul has suffered four of the five aforementioned defeats to St. Joseph by at least 17 points, but the Spartans’ roster features more talent than ever.

Hester figures to be especially energized while playing against his former teammates Friday night. He transferred back to DePaul earlier this year after transferring from DePaul to St. Joseph during last football season.

Hester sat out the St. Joseph-DePaul game a year ago, despite that it was the first for which he was eligible after sitting out an NJSIAA-mandated four games following his transfer. Hester, who was prohibited by DePaul president Joseph M. Tweed from doing interviews this week, leads DePaul with five interceptions and 16 passes defended, and has 47 total tackles.

Jenkins (11 tackles for losses, four sacks), Nelson (11 tackles for losses, four sacks), senior linebacker Steven Speidel (team-leading 54 tackles) and sophomore linebacker Nassir Hooker (eight tackles for losses, seven sacks) also have been highly productive contributors to a tremendous defense that’ll encounter a diverse, prolific offense averaging 43 points per game. This heavily hyped matchup has led DePaul officials to expect a school-record capacity crowd that could exceed 4,000 for the 6 p.m. game, a daunting challenge DePaul’s players acknowledge they’ve had circled on their schedules all season.

"Even when we were just freshmen, there was a sense of rivalry with St. Joe’s," DePaul senior offensive tackle/defensive lineman Mike Kelly said. "It was, ‘This is the team we have to beat.’ This is the only one of the four [Bergen County parochial powers] we’ve always played. They’ve been in our group and on top of that, they’re the team to beat all around. We knock them off, that’s how we really put our name on the board."